Katharine (Kay) W. Bigelow

Katharine W. (MacKenty) Bigelow, better known as Kay to her many friends and relatives, died on Monday, December 23, at the Aberjona Nursing Home in Winchester. She was 82.

Kay was the daughter of John and Katharine Walker MacKenty, the second of three children. Her father was an executive for Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in New York City.

Her father purchased property in Edgartown shortly after WWII. An avid duck hunter, he maintained a series of duck camps on the family property at Kanomika Neck on Edgartown Great Pond which he shared with his many Island friends.

She met her beloved husband, Robert Pratt (Bob) Bigelow, the son of Rolla and Doris Bigelow, longtime West Chop residents, in Edgartown in 1948 when she was 17. They married at St. Andrew’s Church in Edgartown on April 14, 1951.

Kay and Bob were summer residents of Edgartown from 1975 to 2000 and longtime members of the Edgartown Yacht Club.

She leaves behind: children Katharine “Kit” Bigelow and her husband, David Henderson of Arlington, Va., Robert “Bob” and his wife, Nancy J. Bigelow, of Winchester, Sanford “Sandy” Bigelow and his life-partner, Gelina Tibbit, of Tucson, Ariz., and Edward “Ted” and his wife, Deena Bigelow, of Bloomfield, Conn.; brother John and his wife, Irene MacKenty, of Edgartown, and the late Jeremiah and his wife, Maria MacKenty, of Edgartown. She is also survived by many grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

A funeral service was held at the Lane Funeral Home in Winchester on December 28. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust, Post Office Box 5277, Edgartown, MA 02539 or to a charity of your choice. For online condolences please visit www.lanefuneral.com.